The Olmecs in Mexico

The Olmecs first emerged within Mexican history in 1400BC. It is thought
that the first evidence of the Mesoamerican Civilization can be traced back to the city
of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan.

The early communities constructed large cities and ceremonial temples
here. They built similar structures in La Venta and Laguna de los
Cerros.

The environment and ecology within these areas were instrumental to the later growth in population of the Olmecs. The majority of people lived in small villages.
Individual houses were built within relative proximity to each other.

A typical village would usually be located near a river and would
often be on high ground. The surrounding fields would be used to grow
and cultivate crops. Typical diets were quite varied and could include
maize, beans, fish, snake, rabbit, raccoon and deer.

The Colossal Heads

It is possible to examine the cultural practices of the early Latin
American civilization within the distinctive style of their remaining
art and craft work.

The iconic colossal heads offer an insight and understanding into the significant
artistic ability of the Olmecs.
Over fifteen of these impressive sculptures have been discovered so
far within the confines of the map of Mexico.

They generally range
between one and three meters in height.

Some people think that the Colossal heads were portraits of the
rulers throughout society.

They were constructed using extremely heavy
volcanic basalt boulders.

It would have taken a long time and a lot of
people to create these commanding sculptures.

Craft work at this time in
history, would have been produced using a range of materials, including
basalt, clay, greenstone and jade.
The subject of Olmec art could range from standard human
portraits to Mexican animals and exaggerated mythical creatures. There
are mysterious religious meanings and iconography associated with some
of the artwork.

The Progression of Mesoamerican Culture

Many historians and archaeologists over the years have suggested that
the earliest incarnation of the Mesoamerican ballgame originated during
the time of the Olmecs. The Mesoamaerican Ball Game is usually associated within the time frame of the early Maya civilization.

The first ball-court itself was discovered around 1400BC.

The ball was made from rubber, in fact the name of the Olmecs can
be translated (in an ancient Aztec language) as 'the rubber
people'.

It has also been suggested that this community were the first to
develop a writing system in the Western Hemisphere and the first to
produce a long count calendar. These are all impressive feats, however
it has yet to be proven whether these theories are actually correct. The eventual
demise of the Olmecs occurred between 350 to 400BC.

There is no specific evidence or explanation as to why the
population dropped so significantly. It is thought though that extreme
changes in the environmental conditions in the surrounding areas would
have forced the people to move on and separate from each other.